Bushwalker the Official Publication of Bushwalking NSW Inc Volume 38, Issue 3, Winter 2013 from the Editor’S Desk
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Wouldn’t you like to be here? From the Western Arthurs to Federation Peak, South West Tasmania. Photo: Nina Gallo The sad state of the Calna Creek Bridge, Great North Walk, June 2013. Photo: Roger Caffin Walk Safely—Walk with a Club T h e Bushwalker The Official Publication of Bushwalking NSW Inc Volume 38, Issue 3, Winter 2013 From the editor’s desk. ISSN 0313 2684 ur apologies to the NPA. They had asked us to feature some articles in the last issue to go with the back page advertisement, but their copy reached us two days too late. We have included some of it Editor: Roger Caffin O here instead. In addition, some of it was put on our website. [email protected] Graphic Design & Assembly: This issue includes part 3 of Yuri Bolotin’s article on their North-South Barry Hanlon Traverse of Wollemi NP. I know other people have done all sorts of N-S Proofreader: Roy Jamieson and W-E traverses over the years - for that matter my wife and I have done several of each. But many of these other traverses have been done in Confederation Officers: stages: ours were done that way. Yuri and friends went right through the President: David Trinder middle of the Park in one go. That would be one of the hardest walks on Administration Officer: the East Coast of Australia in my opinion: 18 days of Wollemi scrub. [email protected] The front cover shows a walk radically different from Wollemi: it was Website: www.bushwalking.org.au taken on the beach of the Great South West Walk (GSWW) on the south Address all correspondence to: coast of Victoria. In the ordinary way you do an anti-clockwise loop from PO Box 119, Newtown, NSW 2042 Portland along the Glenelg River to Nelson, then you come back along the beach to Portland. There are some rather cute campsites in the dunes with water supplies and lots of flotsam and jetsam. It was very different from Bushwalking NSW Inc represents Wollemi NP! approximately 66 Clubs with a total membership of about 8,700 Articles for Publication bushwalkers. We are always happy to receive pictures for the Inside Front Cover. If you would like to Formed in 1932, Bushwalking NSW see yours published, send them in. In particular, little 640 x 480 photos and, little provides a united voice on behalf of all photos from cheap phones are just not good enough: they simply do not print well bushwalkers on conservation, access enough at 300 dpi. We need the full-size originals, straight from the camera and uncropped and unretouched, so we can set them up for the printing process. and other issues. Apart from that, please keep those bushwalking articles rolling in. We need them. If People interested in joining a you are describing a walk somewhere, it would really help if you could give the reader bushwalking club may write to the (who may be from far away) some idea of where the walk is. We don’t need GRs, just a general idea. We need suitable photos for most every article, so please include a few. Bushwalking Administration Once again, note that little, cropped or shrunk photos will rarely be accepted. If you [email protected] want to include a DOC file or a PDF (in addition to the mandatory plain text file and for a list of Clubs, but a far more full-sized photos) to illustrate how the photos fit into the text, please do so as well. useful on-line list is available at the That can only help. Confederation website However, photos embedded in DOC or PDF files are not accepted by themselves, www.bushwalking.org.au, and neither are scans of standard photographic prints - with the possible exception of broken up into areas. There’s lots of historical items where the print is all that exists. Finished DOC and PDF articles are not other good stuff there too, including suitable by themselves either: we often have to rearrange the text to fit on the page with ads or other changes. Plain text plus original photos! the Australian Bushwalking FAQ. Finally, the opinions expressed by authors may not represent the official opinions of the Confederation or of any Club. The Editor’s opinions are his own, are subject to change without explanation, and may be pretty biased anyhow. Roger Caffin Editor Index Wouldn’t you like to be here? 2 From the Editor’s Desk 3 From Tootie Creek to Kurrajong Heights 4 Control of feral animals back in the hands of NPWS 8 Car Accidents 8 A tour of the Budawangs 9 Historic Tracks around Mt Hotham 11 Castle Rocks, Munghorn Nature Reserve 14 Book Review 15 Top Walks in New South Wales Front Cover: Great South West Walk, Victoria. Photo: Roger Caffin. West Keiwa Red Robin, Battery 9. Story on page 11 Volume 38, Issue 3, Winter 2013 The Bushwalker | 3 Walk Safely—Walk with a Club Wollemi Full North to South Traverse - Part 3 From Tootie Creek to Kurrajong Heights Yuri Bolotin Day 18 — September, 2012 (Parts 1 & 2 were in our Summer and Autumn 2013 issues) Wollemi National Park sign on road The Traverse, 279 km and 12,627 m of ascent, took 18 days in was joined by Yuri Bolotin and Rodney Nelson on the first two September 2012. It went from the northernmost point of the sections; Ian and Yuri did the third section finishing at Kurrajong Park, about 1 km north of Phipps Cutting, to the southernmost on 20 September. point at Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong, whilst always remaining Michael Keats and Yuri Bolotin are writing a book about this within the Park boundaries. Nearly 2 years went into the journey. In the meantime we have published condensed versions of planning. The walk was in three sections with a food resupply three different days on the walk from Yuri’s track diaries. This is between each one. Ian Thorpe (who conceived and led the walk), the third instalment, the conclusion of the series. ‘This is our last day!’ kilometre. This would avoid a long and getting the car here, unless it was set in potentially awkward, scrubby and wet motion and left to its own devices to crash y first thought of the morning push along a substantial gorge formed by at this spot. immediately seized all my this major tributary of the creek. We dropped about 50 m in elevation Mattention as soon as I was woken From here, we started a long and and continued to contour in the same up at 0535 by loud and melodious bird gentle sidle to the south, through a very southerly direction underneath the cliffs. calls around our camp. Even though this pretty landscape. To the right of us were Next we came to the first of three was true and we had been striving for this low, broken bluffs covered in green moss stunning baroque caves, all within a to happen during the last 18 days, I found and red lichen; to our left the valley distance of about 200 m. To be honest it hard to believe that this incredible dropped steeply into the rainforest-clad this took me by complete surprise, as I journey is about to end. The trip went too gorge below. Around us were fields of had not seen any near our place before. quickly and it went too slowly, at the spring flowers, tall grass and These caves could rival the best I’ve seen same time. Xanthorhoeas. The scrub under our feet in the Wollemi. What they lack in size Somehow, I felt very edgy during the was manageable, the morning was crisp, (they are quite small, about 10 m long by night, woke up several times and spent the sun was shining gently, our packs 2 m high), they more than make up for in ages lying in my soft and comfortable bed, were light, and we knew we were getting their astonishing ornamentation. I called listening to the distant murmur of Tootie closer to our destination with our every them Psychedelic Caves. Creek below us. I was not having any step. he walls of the first cave are a profound or anxious thoughts, just trying Then, suddenly and in a total Tpsychedelic riot of patterns and colour to fall asleep, but couldn’t. This was the dissonance to the idyllic scenery we were – yellow, orange, red, white, with dots, most restless night of the Traverse for me, experiencing we came upon an old, totally and I had no idea why. Only now I am rusted car wreck, thinking perhaps subconsciously I was too deposited in a Archeological Jeep excited about it being the last day of our very artistic way grand adventure. along a line of Soon we were having breakfast, four tall, mature packing the fly, striking the camp – an Angophoras. ordinary start for an extraordinary day, Upon examining one of the most memorable days of my it we thought it life. For the last 7 days, it was Ian and I was a Jeep. The only on this third leg of our voyage as car was a fair Rodney had to leave us at Capertee. At way down the 0650, with our packs light and our spirits slope from the high, we were off on our way to top of the ridge. Kurrajong, to finish the Wollemi Traverse. The first edition We first headed south west on gently map shows a rising ground towards the cliffs and away road up on the from Tootie Creek, with the idea of ridge, but they climbing onto the ridge and then must have done dropping back from it after about a pretty well 4 | The Bushwalker Volume 38, Issue 3, Winter 2013 Walk Safely—Walk with a Club stripes, lines, circles, zigzags, swirls – they Australia, by a are all there at the same time.